Since our elementary days, we've been taught by our good 'ol teachers that two-thirds of the earth's surface is covered by water. And in college days, we've also learned that the the human body is composed of 60% water, that the average human brain consists of about 78% of water, and etc. Now what we don't know, is that water could also aid us in losing weight. Yes, water it is!

This is where the waters are in our body

"How did they do that?" you would ask! Naturally, water is a great aid in "maintaining the body's weight by regulating our appetite and increasing our body's metabolism." (Water Facts)

If you have already tried or experienced a day of no food, and all you have is water, when you drink a glass or two, our hunger level goes down. That is how water helps in regulating our appetite. I have also read in some magazine articles that people sometimes mistakes thirst as hunger. So when you feel like binging on a food, don't be shy to grab a glass of water. It will be a great help to your diet.

But be also aware that drinking too much water, can also lead to "overdose", as what our olden pops said "too much of something is bad enough!" Too much drinking of water at a time can cause our brain cells to swell. Just try to imagine endlessly filling-in a plastic bag with water and holding tight on it's open end. After a few moment, the water will try to escape from the plastic bag through the open end on your hand, or the plastic bag will expand/stretch to be able for it to accommodate the amount of fluid coming in. That is due to the pressure build up, and the case is the same as with our body.

Aside from this, excessive daily intake of water can also cause "water intoxication", flushing out electrolytes, such as sodium, from our body.

So how can we effectively lose weight without being afraid of these risk factors?

Thanks to Zest-O, the maker of our favorite fruit juices, as they came up with a revolutionary water weight-loss product that is packed with 300mg of L-Carnitine, an amino acid that helps increase fat-burning properties in the body and 2 grams of Fibersol, a water soluble fiber that help maintain a healthy digestive track. This is not just "another L-Carnitine" product, as it has zero sugar, and zero calories which will enable you to burn more fats without adding extra pounds. Aside from this, WaterPlus is in near water-formulation, light, refreshing, and has no heavy flavors but just a hint of our favorite fruits to choose from grape, apple, or lemon & berries of WaterPlus Reduce variants.

For us runners, the fibersol will help in flushing out the lactic acid produced in our muscles during our strenuous trainings, or race. As for the L-Carnitine, well I still need it though I have a thin body, since my tummy and waist has already gained bulk from sitting more than 10 hours a day, making a living.

WaterPlus Reduce Variants

Now join me in my running adventures, stay healthy and hydrated with WaterPlus Reduce! Get more out of water!

...while most of the runners are hyped at one of the big races of the year, competing to be one of the King of the Road, I was back at my hometown for the "Eye Run 'coz I Care".

A few days after my September run, I was torn into deciding which race should I join for October 24 since there were three running events happening on the same date. The first Baguio City Host Lions Club run-for-cause; the first St. Peter Life Run with only Php 50.00 of registration fee; or the Adidas KOTR where I am entitled for a 50% registration discount for having accumulated 11 sessions at the aNR Ortigas.

After realizing that I already miss racing in Baguio, I opted to join the Lions Club event. It is the first run-for-a-cause of the Baguio City Host Lions Club, and my 10-mile distance debut run as well. The beneficiary of the event are the visually impaired children of Baguio City, who are under the care of NLAB (Northern Luzon Association for the Blind). I remember way back in 1996-1997 when I was still studying while doing my part-time job of selling sweepstakes tickets, my competitor vendors in the Baguio Cathedral area are the blind ones. Everytime someone buys tickets from them, I am awestruck by how they can give exact change to their customers. What's more amazing is how they can go back to the same area day-by-day, climbing the 100+ steps of Baguio Cathedral, and how they can return back to their own houses with only their sticks to guide them.

I thought I was the only one among my running-buddies in the office who will be joining this event. But when they got to knew of my plan, our number increased to two, then three, four, until we reached up to nine participants during the day of our registration, and ten - including my half brother, half sister. But when typhoon "Megi" (local name "Juan") devastated a lot of property and flooded some flatlands in Northern Luzon, the number dropped down to two as eight of those registrants backed-out. My brother didn't backed-out due to fear.... fear from me, lol! Their race bibs (thanks to you in behalf of them) then went to three of my friends in Baguio (Jason, James, and Jaymark) who wanted to join the event, but wasn't able to register.

All of these are for the Blind, thanks to those who donated :)

Me and my brother arrived 10-minutes before the gun-start for the 16-km. James wasn't there yet, Jaymark was already on his way, while Jayson enjoyed his bed-time. It was only after the race that we've met James and came to know that he arrived as early as 4:30AM. He also did a good warm-up by walking from their house at Gibraltar, Mines View towards the starting line, a good distance of 3-4 kilometers (or 19% to 25% of the 16-km route).

The race event was simple yet noteworthy. There were no glamorous pre- and post-race program, no eye-catching route banners, starting and finish line facade, no high-tech gadgets such as timing chips or barcodes. The absence of these features did not hinder the success of the event:

A good sprint with another runner towards the finish line.

Participants - a number of elite runners and athletes also registered and joined the event such as the World Women's Boxing Championship bronze medalist Alice Kate Aparri, Flordeliza Doños and Hernane Sore; Camsur International Marathon third placer Michelle Balbuena, National Milo Marathon qualifier Librada Tamson; runners from the Philippine Sports Commission, Baguio Country Club, PMA Academic personnel and some Baguio-based professionals also joined the event.

Hydration - although the runners rarely hydrates due to the cool weather, there were still ample water stations situated at around 2-km, 6-km, and 10-km marks and at the finish line. Even I have only consumed about 150ml from my hydration fluid and my sweat glands was not even activated.

Race route - the route was not confusing since it was also my training route. The hilly part inside the Teacher's camp going out to South drive still remains a challenge to me though.

Marshalls - two to four friendly marshals are located at the most critical areas (crossings, u-turn loops) and are all active in leading the runners to their route.

Distance markers - there were no kilometer markers, but the route distance was measured through GPS as announced before the race.

Race Photos - A number of photographers are located along the route. Visit the facebook fanpage of Baguio City Host for the photos.

Race Results - At around 7:00AM, The race results on the manila paper are already almost complete. Visit Baguio City Host Lions Club's facebook fanpage for the race results.

The initial race results

My brother had his first 5k run on this event, and I hope that he would still get to join further races in the future.

Jaymark, who also had his very first fun run, was very happy that he was able to participate on this event, and I'd like to post his facebook message to me: "...the distance that i ran that morning considering that I ONLY slept 1 and a half hour meant so much to me, every step I took was for those kids who didn't had the chance to see the beauty of the world that I am seeing..those are for them.. and with that i realized how really blessed we are!"

What mattereth in a calm heart,
that from you I cannot depart?
A genial feeling overpowereth my smart,
like a tranquil beauty of a portrayed art.

What ariseth in a sleeping heart,
that you had always been a part?
A life filled with happiness, joy, and mirth,
seemeth to me that I am in a new birth;

What hath thou doest to me,
that I have such love to thee?
A weak heart doth jumpeth with glee,
like a bird in mighty doth flee!

Background: 04Nov1998 @ 1029a, the poem's title was derived from the last verse of Rizal's poem entitled "To Josephine" which reads "late por ti un Corazon" in spanish. This poem was inspired by one silent lady whom I have fallen in love with back in my College days (aherm!).

Last November 30, 2009, our Company's HR sponsored several running events, thus our Company's running team was born -- the Strathletes. One of the races that we have joined was the very 1st McHappy Day Fun Run in celebration of the McHappy Day, formerly known as World Children's Day - a global fundraising effort in support of various children’s causes.

Join the Fun, and help kids read.

This coming November 28, 2010 (my birthday as well), McDonald’s is again celebrating the McHappy day and is inviting us with its "2nd McHappy Day Fun Run" at the Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio Taguig. It is the same venue where the 1st McHappy Fun Run was held.

The McHappy Day Fun Run is a special run to raise Php 1 million for the benefit of the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), the charity of choice of McDonald’s and its banner program, Bright Minds Read (BMR). Bright Minds Read is a program in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd) that provides reading toolkits to different public schools all over the country to help students learn beginning reading. To date, over 2,200 public schools nationwide are under the BMR program.

As the Blue Water Day Spa Run ends, the BWDS Management and Organizers wish to extend their gratitude to everyone who participated on their first fun run event. Read their thank you letter below.

Dear Blue Water Day Spa Run Participants,

First of all, thank you very much for your heartwarming support to the first Blue Water Day Spa Run held yesterday morning at Mall of Asia. Being our first run, we have tried our utmost to ensure that the runners have a good, fun, relaxing experience by providing activities such as the Jazz Up Your Singlet, Celebrity Participation — Sam Milby, Karylle Tratlonghari, Michaela Lagdameo, Boom Labrusca and Kiko Rustia among others. We also had sampling from Figaro and Easy Phamax Wheatgrass.

Although the event came out a big success, we acknowledge that there are some things we can still improve on for the next run — the loot bags for the 3k run had very little goodies. The main reason for this is that some partners and sponsors were not able to come and set up or deliver the items due to the anticipated storm today and the heavy rains yesterday. We sincerely apologize for this (but at the same time thankful that the storm changed its course). Hopefully you were still able to gather freebies from the other sponsor/exhibitor booths as you went around the activity area post-race.

We hope that this will not hinder you from joining next years race and we will work even harder to ensure that we have a bigger and better race next year.

Seven months ago, Unilab successfully held their Run United - Wellness run where a lot of young ones, sports enthusiasts, and adults took part on the event.

Unilab's Active Health Series

This time, Unilab has continued their Wellness events, leveling it up to ActiveHealth to promote a healthier lifestyle, not only for the athlete, but for the whole family as well to promote an active lifestyle for the Filipino family.

This October and November, brace and mark your calendar with these active United events from Unilab. The Bike United, Tri United, and the final installment of the RunRio Trilogy - Run United. Read on below about these series of active health and active tests of your limit.

The Bike United was held yesterday, October 16 at the Venice Piazza, McKinley Hills, Taguig. The Bike United aims to gather weekend warriors and competitive bikers for a day of active health and wellness. It has three (3) main events:

20 km Sunset Fun Ride - a first in Manila, starting from McKinley Hill and will pass through the exclusive Philippine Army Camp (keep posted at the Unilab's website for new schedule).

I-On Dual Stunt - two (2) riders will race on identical tracks and will follow a knock-out system until the final rider wins.

Plus, there will be an event for the kids, the Ceelin Kiddie Bike Clinic that will teach 7-12 years old kids on basic biking skills.

Tri-United Whiterock, happening on November 13, 2010 at the Whiterock Beach, Subic, is the ultimate test of endurance in the triathlon arena for both the adults and kids, composing of 2 km swim, 91 km road bike, and 20 km run, available for Individual or Relay team competitors.

Plus event also for the Kids of 6 to 12 years old, they may also participate by joining the Tri Kids Swim and Run Clinic. The clinic is designed to help the children understand how to properly race in a triathlon event. A race simulation will follow after the clinic where kids can put into use what they learned from the clinic.

For the Leg 3 of the RunRio Trilogy - Run United 2, this event will take two days weekend on November 20-21, 2010 at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, and will be for the benefit of Gawad Kalusugan and Hero Foundation.

What's unique on this event is the Runrio Afroman distance of 20-mile or 32 km distance. Why 32 kilometer? As most of the runners who have already ran a Marathon, the 32nd to 35th kilometer is where most runners hits their "wall", or the dramatic fatigue of the body where glycogen stores are almost up to its limit. So this is a good endurance test training for those aiming to debut, or comeback on a Marathon distance.

The fun and active event doesn't stop here though, as the active family bonding would continue at the Unilab Active Health Village on each race dates where Kids, Adults, and Seniors will get to take part of the play zones, diagnostic tests, medical consultations, and running tips from fitness Coaches.

Have you sometimes experienced difficulties in searching for online stores where you can buy best-priced and in good condition products such as running shoes? Most of the time, we tend to search the millions of products posted on giant e-stores, but most of these times also, the goods that we're looking for no longer have the quality, the price, or the service that we need. Look no more, because CSN Stores has over 200+ online website where you can find everything from stylish handbags, sports items, home gym equipments, to cookware, or even a new twin bed set for the guest room.

I myself, living here in the Philippines, was able to experience the easy shopping from one of their online stores. What's more interesting about their store is the reviews that you can read about a particular product, so you'll know beforehand the experience of other customers who also bought the same item as what you will be purchasing.

And to give you a teaser, I will also be posting a review about the item that I just bought, so keep posted. Shop Easy with CSN stores.